What I forgot to mention was that when I left the station a polite reporter lady from Asahi Shimbun, one of the biggest daily newspapers in Japan interviewed me about my experience with the delays and my opinion about how it was handled etc. Very calm, polite and professional without any personal questions.
Anyways, after I could check into my room I decided to make it a laundry day.
I can see how long my laundry still needs on the TV in my room. Neat,
These are the machines. 3 kg of laundry need 2 hours including the detergent and the drying and cost 500 yen.
In the same room there is the vending machine (has also alcohol) and left is a money changer if you don't have enough coins for washing or drinks.
Then there is the ice dispenser (free) and a microwave.
English promotion slogans in Japan are as good as the T-shirts. And? are you ready to hit the road and hit the high? I am! The can left is Suntory Sui gin with soda.
Clear, big and long lasting ice cubes.
When the laundry was finished I hit the streets and tried to find the JR ticket office. No luck. It is very well hidden somewhere in a building with several floors and a ground area of a couple hectares. The only hint at where it could be jumped at me when I left the station after dinner. But I had my resevations already. I grudgingly tried the reservation vending machines and after only 4 attempts I managed to get one of the few free green car seats in both trains with a convenient break in Tokyo, so I don't have to run.
Today there was an acute heatstroke warning for Chiba and parts of Tokyo. 37-38°C at 100% humidity. Here in Morioka it started to rain a bit. I hope Tokyo cools down a bit, too.
The Fezzan mall at the station is a shopping wonderland. Walking like 20 meters takes you along a soft ice specialized venue next to a restaurant and a high end men's business attire shop (a shirt was like 170 €). Vis a vis is a grocery stand with fruits and vegetables, Lindt chocolate and a souvenir shop.
The restaurants were in the basement. I didn't want Sushi or chinese again and decided on Tonkatsu. You never go wrong with deep fried, breaded pork goodness. They get all their stuff from local farmers and producers, The Prefectures in Japan seem to have hotter competitions than Bavaria and Prussia. Morioka is btw. in the Iwate prefecure.
They had a 280 Yen special for a new meal. Pork roast from some special Iwate porkbreed. Very good. The cabbage is just finely shredded. You have dressings and sauces on the table if you want.
And this is the pork loin and Shrimp set. Complete with rice, miso soup and free green tea and water it was 1300 Yen or 7,80 € A lot of working class people and pensioners had their dinner there. The prok has a bit of fat and is juicy and tender. As was the Shrimp.
When I left the mall/station I saw this. Plastic surgery is big in Japan. Many girls have eye surgery to get this big eyed look as opposed to the usually narrower Asian eyes which are caused by a certain piece of skin around the eyes which can be removes relatively easy. I like the original Asian look better than this anime style, but to each their own.
This was a screen at a restaurant. I almost went in just for that. Look at that glistening, juicy, chargrilled beauty. And the good part is that what you get inside will at least be 99% the same quality. But I was really too full. In another life maybe.
They have a big Lawson's combini directly in the hotel and so I bought the gin for a final paper cup tonight and made some pics. If you see the variety keep in mind that these pics are merely a small part of the complete assortment. There is much much more.
Meat and fish snacks.
Porky goodness.
Fishy goodness.
Different kinds of Jerky, dried squid and cheese.
There were too many people around the fresh stuff to make pics. The combinis are usually open until 10 pm to midnight with some having a 24/7 service. Later in the evening they often sell the fresh stuff at high discounts. Supermarkets do the same. So when you are on a budget you go shopping late.
And they don't need night counters, firearms or jail like grids of steel.
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